48 HAND-BOOK FOR HORSEWOMEN. 



reins in her left hand and put her right hand on the 

 first pommel, with the thumb inside and the palm of 

 the hand on the pommel ; he will then take her left 

 foot in his left hand, in order to prevent her from 

 pushing it forward, explaining that, by pressing on 

 the stirrup, she will develop the obtuse angle formed 

 by her leg, of which the knee is the apex ; whereas, 

 if she pushes her foot forward, the angle will cease 

 to exist, and she can not lift herself. With his right 

 hand placed under her left arm, he will help her to 

 lift herself perpendicularly; while she is in the air 

 he will count one, will let her pause there for a short 

 space of time, and will then help her to let herself 

 slowly down, continuing the pressure on the stirrup, 

 and, when she has regained her saddle, he will count 

 two ; then he will recommence the movement of ris- 

 ing, and will count three while she is in the air, and 

 four when she is again seated ; and this may be 

 continued until he sees that she is beginning to be 

 tired. The foot must only be one third of its length 

 in the stirrup; for, if it is pushed home, she will 

 lose the play of the ankle, which will tend to stiffen 

 the knee and hip. When the pupil begins to under- 

 stand, the teacher will let her go through the move- 

 ment rather more quickly, still counting one, two, 

 three, four; then he will allow her to practice it 

 without his help : all this preparatory work being 

 done while the horse is standing still. It is impor- 

 tant that she should not drop into her saddle, but 

 let herself down by pressing on the stirrup ; and on 



